date: Wed, 31 Mar 2004 12:29:52 +0200
from: Tim Mitchell <tim.mitchell@surrey.ac.uk>
subject: Update from Tim and Suzanne
to: Tim Mitchell <tim.mitchell@surrey.ac.uk>

Dear all,

We have already been in Guildford for one month out of the six months. The
time is flying by and the opportunities are there to be taken.

Term (for the undergraduates) has finished, but many of the internationals
are still here. Our Wednesday lunchtime Bible study course on John's Gospel
finished last week, so in half an hour we will be gathering some of the
regulars together to sit in the sunshine and talk. Perhaps the more informal
structure will allow one or two of the students to open up to us? The Lod
knows...

On Sunday we have a Kenyan Christian (O.) and a Pakistani (H.) coming to us
for lunch. In what direction will the conversation go? Will we have the
opportunity to talk about religion? Will the Kenyan and Pakistani get on
well together? The Lord knows...

Please pray that these opportunities, and others like them (see the example
below from Suzanne), will prove fruitful. Unless the Lord builds the house,
those who build it labour in vain (Ps 127:2).

Yours in Christ
Tim and Suzanne
_______________

Some weeks ago, members of the Families Team saw an opportunity to reach
more international ladies with the Gospel: a supporting church in an area of
Guildford where many international students live with their families has
excellent facilities which the church wants to use for the benefit of the
local community. With much prayer and in faith (there were no obvious
helpers available), the church hall was booked for the second and fourth
Thursdays in the month during school term times for an international ladies
get-together.  The vision was to care for these ladies holistically,
providing them with opportunities to meet other ladies (British and
international), improve their English, to have somewhere they could bring
their young children, and especially to come into contact with Christianity
and to hear the Gospel.

We met for the first time last Thursday.  By this time Ruth (Families Team
leader) had recruited nine volunteers to help and publicity had been sent
out to ladies we already knew in the area.  In the event, only one (Greek)
lady turned up with her daughter, and that as we were starting to think
about packing up and going home!

Although at first we were disappointed, on reflection it does seem as if
last Thursday was a useful morning.   Not all of us who were helping knew
each other as we are all associated with different churches, and many of us
had never been inside this particular church building and were not familiar
with the facilities.  Now we feel more of a team, rather than a group of
individual volunteers, and we know the building!

Because of the Easter holidays we will not meet again until 22nd April, but
in the meantime we are praying that the resources we have (facilities and
keen volunteers) may be used and that this group may be a means of bringing
many internationals to hear the Gospel and to trust in Christ for
themselves.

____________________________________
Dr. T. D. Mitchell --- 07906 922 489
tim.mitchell@surrey.ac.uk

